The Asus ROG G703GI is the next generation of the Asus ROG G703, a gigantic gaming laptop that impressed us with its outstanding performance and solid build quality, nevertheless suffered from a bulky design, higher cost and poor battery life.
Together with the ROG G703GI, Asus has fostered the hardware further, which makes it a much more powerful gaming system.
But while these promoted specs allow it play the newest games better than before, it might also exacerbate the problems the former generation of the G703 suffered from, particularly in the purchase price and battery life section
Price and availability
The Asus ROG G703GI is offered in many of configurations, together with the options varied marginally based on which nation you purchase it in.
From the US there's the G703GI-XS74, that includes an Intel Core i7-8750H Processor, 17.3-inch 1080p G-Sync display, overclocked Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics card, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, two 256GB PCIe SSDs plus a 1TB hard disk. This costs $3,499.
Then there's the G703GI-XS98K, that includes the exact same spec, but using an Intel Core i9-8950HK processor and a 2TB hard disk for $3,699.
At the top of the range is the G703GI-XS99K, that has the exact same spec as the XS98K however with 64GB of RAM and three 512GB PCIe NVMe SSDs. This version costs $4,999, and it is the model we've got in for review.
In the United Kingdom the scope starts with the G703GI-E5005R, that includes a 1080p screen, Intel Core i7-8750H Processor, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 2 NVME M.2 SSDs, 1TB hard drive and an Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics card, and also prices £3,199.99.
There's also the G703GI-E5088R, that includes a six-core Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, with the remaining part of the replicas exactly the exact same as previously, along with a price tag of £3,499.99.
These are incredibly expensive machines, then, placing them at a similar price bracket as the Asus ROG Zephyrus GX501 along with the Razer Blade Pro. The bite has been taken out of the cost somewhat from the addition of a gaming back pack, headset and mouse, however, that remains an eye-wateringly high price tag, and also one the Asus ROG G703GI is going to need to work hard to justify.
Asus has told us that the first version of the G703 comes out from the United Kingdom and there aren't any plans to attract more out, therefore the Asus ROG G703GI is basically replacing the old model, and we imagine it is a similar story worldwide.
From the US the Asus ROG G703GI has marginally better specs than the top-end model in the United Kingdom. We are awaiting pricing and configuration details such as Australia.
Design
The design of the Asus ROG G703GI is pretty much equal to the ROG G70, therefore anticipate a stunning'metal armor' design that's large and bulky; this isn't any slimline MaxQ laptop such as the Asus ROG Zephyrus GX501.
Measuring 425 x 319 x 51mm and weighing 4.7kg, the Asus ROG G703GI is a laptop that certainly falls into the'desktop replacement' category, so it is not that far more portable than a desktop PC, despite the fact that it's a bit thinner and thinner compared to the G703.
The big 17.3-inch screen can help to make this kind of large, heavy monster of a laptop, but it is a cost many may be prepared to pay for immersive large-screen gaming experiences.
The brushed aluminum casing feels strong, and provides the Asus ROG G703GI a superior look that tells you that its owner takes gaming really seriously. Much like the G703 there's an ROG logo on the trunk that excels if the laptop is currently in use, together with a backlit keyboard that may be set to display a selection of light configurations.
The keyboard itself is excellent, using responsive-feeling keys that have loads of traveling (2.5mm to be precise ) and which react with a satisfying'click' when pressed, somewhat like a mechanical keyboard. The keyboard on the G703 has been one of the finest we had used on a gaming laptop, so we're very happy to see it contained in its own successor.
The touchpad is a little more offset to the left of the ROG G703GI's entire body, but it seems normal to use there, and it's quick and responsive. Of course, for gaming you're going to want to use another gaming mouse.
At the top of the keyboard are a pair of special function keys that adjust the volume and mute or unmute the microphone. There's also an'Aura' button, which brings up the ROG Aura software for inspecting the RGB lighting. Alongside this is a button sporting the Xbox logo, which opens the Game Bar feature in Windows 10, helping you to easily configure your own game and setup streaming.
There's also a button using a camera logo, which opens the favorite XSplit Gamecaster software for streaming gameplay, and a button using the ROG logo, which brings up Asus' Gaming Center software for program maintenance and overclocking. In the event you use one of these services or features frequently, these buttons are going to be a fantastic improvement, but if you do not then they're going to be quite useless. There does not seem to be a simple method to place the buttons to start other tasks or software, and it is a pity, but they do not occupy too much space in case you are not going to use them.
Build quality is excellent, so in the event that you decide to drag the Asus ROG G703GI about you should not need to fret too much about it getting ruined, which can be just as well thinking about the cost. The bulky size also allows for a huge assortment of ports, such as a USB-C Thunderbolt 3 port, three USB 3.1 ports, a miniature DisplayPort, HDMI, SD card reader and Ethernet port. That's a large sum of connectivity for a laptop, using the Ethernet port an important component for network play (of course, when you would like to go wireless there's a strong 802.11ac Wi-Fi connection too ).
There are also two power ports to plug into the two (big ) electricity supplies, and these wind up often being rather inconvenient. You have to plug into the Asus ROG G703GI in order for it to control, so it means lugging them around with you and looking for just two free plug sockets where you use the laptop. It is necessary thinking about the power-hungry innards of the laptop, however it's annoying.
Performance
.Taking into consideration the purchase price and specifications of the Asus ROG G703GI we had been hoping for excellent results in terms of performance, also in the our standard testing and day-to-day use we had been quite impressed with the way the laptop played.
This is due to the recent Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, which can be combined with the aging, nevertheless still quite capable, Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics card.
The G703GI recorded a number of the best results we have seen in the gaming laptop, handling 101 frames per second in Middle Earth: Shadow of War together with the graphics settings at'Ultra'.
This is a really graphically-intensive game, therefore for the laptop to have the ability to attain such high frame rates is testament to the high-end components Asus has packaged in to it. Additionally, it conveniently defeats the MSI GS65 Stealth, and improves over the last generation's Asus ROG G703 from the performance stakes too.
If you would like to play games in full visual fidelity, and even at 4K resolution should you plug it into a TV, then the Asus ROG G703GI is definitely worth looking at. Even in the event that you adhere with the built-in 17.3-inch 1080p screen, games look fantastic, especially once you whack all the graphics bells and whistles into the max. The display supports a 144Hz refresh speed and G-Sync, making gameplay feel responsive and smooth, without a recourse or screen ripping.
From the Cinebench benchmarks the ROG G703GL scored 1,070 cb for the CPU, also 148.67fps for the graphics. These are respectable scores, but this laptop has an"Overboost" mode that could be switched on by the ROG software, and then securely overclocks the hardware to get superior performance. It seemed to do the trick very well, as in Overboost mode the laptop scored 1,414 cb for the CPU, also 149.25 fps for the GPU, and it will be a wonderful growth when it has to do with the processor's performance.
After we used the Asus ROG G703GI for tasks other than gaming we found that the performance was good, but less striking. The great deal of super-fast NVMe PCIE SSD storage area empowers Windows 10 to load quickly, but it occasionally felt somewhat laggy in use.
We had put this down into the great deal of additional software that comes installed using the PC, making it feel somewhat bloated at first. However, as soon as you allow the laptop'bed in', and get rid of the software you do not need to use, performance is a lot better. Of course, it's also worth noting that this is a laptop you are going to be mainly gaming on, and in that place it excels.
There are costs to pay for this level of performance, however, and whether you believe they're worth paying will likely ascertain whether the Asus ROG G703GI is right for you. There's the financial cost of course, and, in addition to being big and chunky the Asus ROG G703GI may also get very loudly when gaming, as well as sometimes during less intensive tasks, as its fan whirls so as to maintain the strong components inside trendy.
Battery life
Gaming laptops are not famous for their extended battery life -- though a number of the newer, thinner, laptops are attempting to buck that trend -- and using a gaming laptop as large and beastly since the Asus ROG G703GI it is not surprising that the battery life is really slight.
Having said that, it might surprise you to understand exactly how quickly the battery lifetime dissipates. Within our battery life evaluation, playing with a 1080p video file on repeat until the battery dies, the Asus ROG G703GI only lasted 1 hour and 53 minutes, and it can be significantly less than the running time of several films. Thus don't anticipate this for a laptop you can happily match pictures on without it being plugged .
If it comes to the more strenuous task of playing games the battery dissipates more quickly, and at the PCMark 8 battery life routine evaluation, which reproduces medium-to-heavy use like creating video calls, surfing the internet and word processing, the battery drained quickly, lasting only one hour and a half.
Simply speaking, this is a laptop that must be plugged in nearly always, and as we said before it requires just two power supplies to properly charge the battery. The good thing is that the battery does at least cost quickly.
General assessment
The Asus ROG G703GI is easily one of the most effective gaming laptops we've reviewed. Gaming performance, playing a number of the latest games at highest graphical settings, is excellent, and you should not need to be worried about updating for a lengthy time. It is going to also handle virtual reality readily.
It's extremely costly, but which will put many people off. There are a range of configurations that change in cost, which means you might discover a version of the ROG G703GI that is appropriate for your budget, but it will still cost you a ton.
Additionally, it should be plugged in virtually constantly which, together with the dimensions, means it is not that portable. But should you require a laptop that can handle the most latest games without breaking much of a sweat, and that could be transported more readily than a desktop PC (for example to gaming events and contests ), then the Asus ROG G703GI could prove well worth the hefty investment.
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